Civility, please

Four years have gone by very quickly and it is almost time again for the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) to hold its next national congress which has been scheduled for next August in Tamale in the Northern Region.

As usual, the main agenda at the congress would be the election of a new national executive as required by the union’s Constitution. The positions that need to be filled are President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, General Secretary, Treasurer, Welfare Officer and Organizer.

What many music industry insiders and observant sections of the general public may, unfortunately, remember about the last congress which was held at Sunyani in November 2007 was the acrimony that characterised the nomination and vetting of candidates for some of those positions.

That was a sad scenario because a united front on the music scene stands to benefit the musicians themselves and  the country as a whole. Music is such a strong generator of employment and money that everyone connected with it is always a winner if affairs are in a civil and competent manner.

South Korea is not exactly known to be among the countries that make huge amounts of money from music exports. The country’s Trade and Investment Agency, however, announced recently that  income from cultural exports, including pop music,  was worth almost $2bn in 2008. We can also do well through export of our music and other cultural products but we must first let civility and mutual trust reign.